


It Also Travels in Time

by orphan_account



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Because its the Doctor and Rose, Complete, Episode: s01e01 Rose, F/M, First-ish Kiss, Mentions of Future regenerations, Mentions of past regenerations, Missing Scene, So much Timey-Wimey, So that can happen, Someone stop me, Time Travel (of Course), Timey-Wimey, Um... I haven't looked at this in a while, and I realized there weren't that many tags, first kiss?, so I came over to check on it, then this happened
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-22
Updated: 2014-12-22
Packaged: 2018-03-02 18:03:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2821292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's a time machine and we all know that the TARDIS liked Rose. Who's to say that the Doctor had to only be gone a few seconds?</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Also Travels in Time

The Doctor almost wanted to beg the human-  _Rose_  the TARDIS prompted- to come with him. He was loathe to admit it, but he was lonely. He wanted to beg her, but Time Lords don't-  _hadn't_  begged. Superiority and all that bollocks that all of them believed. He still had to ask- 'Unless, oh, I don't know, you could come with me. This box isn't just a London hopper, you know. It goes anywhere in the universe, free of charge.

Then Rickey (or was it Mickey?) decided to pipe up with his obvious exclamation of him being an alien, or 'a thing' as he had so kindly put it. He tried again, after insulting Rickey of course, with a 'He's not invited.' He paused. 'What do you think? You could fill your life with work and food and sleep, or you could go... anywhere.'

One query- that's all she had.

'Is it always this dangerous?' She asked with a slightly yearning look on her face, as if she couldn't wait for the danger.

'Yeah,' he responded in a matter of fact tone. He wanted her to come, but not to have false expectations. He wanted her to come with him so badly. This form was so new- and her face was the first this face had seen. Only a few hours in her presence and she was already emblazoned -seared- across his hearts.

She said no.

Not in those exact words, but close enough- and with excuses so blatant a blind man could have seen through them. So, with a sheen of tears in his eyes, he closed the TARDIS doors softly, walked up the grated ramp and started the dematerialization sequence

' _No,_ ' the TARDIS yelled, trying to get past his telepathic shields. ' _My Wolf! Thief! Go back for her!'_

But the Doctor ignored Her. Or maybe he didn't hear her. He had raised his shields so high as of late so that he didn't have to hear the aching emptiness inside his head so he often enough didn't hear even Her loudest of shouts.

He had done it in an effort to stop the nightmares.

It hadn't worked.

 

*****

 

He traveled alone. He saw miraculous things, impossible things, things so far out of the realm of possibility for the girl-'Rose' the TARDIS interjected- wouldn't have been able to cope and probably would have asked to be taken home./p

' _No. She would have gazed in wonder just as you did._ '

' _Shut up,_ ' he snarled. ' _Not everything goes the way you see things._ '

The TARDIS mentally recoiled. This regeneration was harsh and angry, and was only ever happy when faced with a chance at death. She managed to avoid the worst of them, but sometimes a few slipped through Her grasp.

Or if he was around humans. Her Thief had always been attracted to humans and their view on things. This regeneration called them 'stupid apes' but She could tell that he loved them in his way. She could also tell that he missed Her Wolf. Her Thief just wouldn't admit it.

He didn't know why she stuck in his head so thoroughly- others had said no, and for even worse reasons than hers. It was just different- she had said no with reluctance- as if if he had given her a second chance, she would have come running without even a glance back.

But he didn't give second chances. She had said no, and Time Lord's hadn't begged- the one thing he wasn't rebellious about, and, oh, how he wished he was.

 

*****

 

The TARDIS was fed up. She had tried to deal with his childish ways, had tried to tell him- but he wouldn't listen. Her Thief was being unnecessarily stubborn.

So she decided it was time for some drastic measures-showing him his future with Their Wolf- whether he liked it or not.

It was one of his touring adventures where he simply saw the sights- a rare thing in this body- when he met a most curious woman. Well, not that curious, since she knew him but he didn't know her- hazards of time traveling. Her name was Nancy. She had a son named Jamie. He told her not to tell him how they had met, but they had a rather enjoyable conversation. Until she asked after Rose.

He froze. He didn't know what to do. So he ran. Didn't even say good-bye. (After all, he was quite rude. And not ginger. Maybe his next body...) There wasn't any reason for him to be here anyway. Could always just go to a different era and risk his life. Stupid apes and their jeopardy friendly ways.

 

*****

 

He was on another touring trip (why were these getting so common?) when he saw a girl who couldn't have been anyone else but Rose-the human he corrected in his mind- on an estate. She had just wrecked her bike and had scraped her knees, and was just sitting and staring at the ruins of her bike on the ground.

He didn't usually help with the mundane stuff like this, but wrecking a bike was practically world ending to a child.

He soniced her scrapes and helped her stand, then asked if anything else hurt. She sniffled and said, 'No. Nothin' else.'

There it was again- it was as if she had something else to say, but was afraid of what others would have to say about her opinions.

'Are you sure?' he asked, worried for her well being.

'Yeah,' she sighed. 'It's just it's really close to Christmas, and I know Mum won't be able to get me another bicycle before then.'

The Doctor looked at her and cocked his head to the side.

'What's your favorite color?'

She gave him a suspicious look. 'Why?'

He decided the Father Christmas route was best.

'Just so that when I tell Father Christmas that a lovely young lady is in need of a bicycle, he doesn't get the color wrong when he delivers it.'

'Red,' she said excitedly. Then she looked inquisitive again. 'But how do you know Santa?'

'Oh, I've known Santa- or as I like to call him, Geoff- for years,' he exclaimed. 'I'm his head elf. Can't you see these ears?'

She giggled, and finally turned and walked away from him.

When she looked back, he was gone and there was a wheezing sound in the air.

 

*****

 

The Christmas of 1998, Rose Marion Tyler got a red bicycle for Christmas.

She knew not to ask where it had come from- no one would have been able to answer anyway.

She believed in Father Christmas- or maybe just elves- until she was 19-years-old.

 

*****

 

He went to the factories of Villengard- of course, after he led they were the fields of Villengard.

(He'd blown up the factories.

He didn't like guns.

He planted a banana grove there.

Bananas are good.)

He then met the Moxx of Balhoon- a nice fellow, if overly fond of spitting in lieu of a handshake.

He was soon forced to rebuild his screwdriver though. He wasn't too disappointed. It had served him well and he did have a few new ideas for some new settings, but what worried him most was that when he put in coordinates with it, he always landed sometime in the 21st century, London. It was quite annoying.

 

*****

 

The TARDIS was frustrated once again. She had tried everything. She had had him meet Nancy, a young Wolf, and had even tried landing him in times when future him would have been in London so that he could get a chance to see them together and realize he needed her. Instead, he has just took off and fiddled with his stupid screwdriver.

As if that would change anything; the TARDIS took him where he needed to go, not necessarily where he wanted to go. Her Thief should have learned that by now.

But, because everything else had failed, it was time for a metaphorical slap in the face for Her Thief.

 

*****

 

Rose landed with a thump and staggered.

Then she saw it- the TARDIS. She half-laughed, half-sobbed, (After so long!) and she ran up to it, grabbing her key as she did so, but the doors opened before she could even get close enough to get it in the slot.

The she saw the Doctor.

 

*****

 

The Doctor shook his head. He didn't understand- what was the TARDIS's problem? She had just landed, and had subsequently refused to budge.

He had tried bargaining, threatening with the mallet, even offering to not tinker for a while. Needless to say, she had refused all his offers.

He scratched his head and sighed. Probably just charging... or being temperamental. At any given time, it could have been one or the other nowadays.

When he heard the doors open behind him, he turned around, surprised. Impossible, he thought. (The TARDIS snickered at that. These two are will did prove(ing) impossible wrong so many times).

Then he saw Rose Tyler.

Rose gasped- it was her first Doctor, 'ol' big ears' he had called himself, oh, so many times.

Her face showed surprise, then nothing. But her eyes- her eyes showed everything, which was love, and, oddly, sadness, the Doctor could see that much.

She walked up the grated ramp, putting the dimension cannon she was carrying onto the floor by the door, then slowly walked toward him, trailing her fingers along the rail. She breathed in the scent of safety, and time, and above all else, home. Pete's World had never been home, even though that was where all her family was. Her home would always be with the Doctor, any version of him. She stopped at the top of the ramp and just looked at him.

'Where am I?' she asked.

'You're in the TARDIS. That's T-A-R-D-I-S. Time And Relative Dim-' he started.

'Yeah, I know I'm in the TARDIS,' she said. 'Time And Relative Dimension In Space. You've told me all that before when I was first in here. I meant where am I. The past version of me. If we meet up-'

'Reapers. But you shouldn't need to worry about those,' he explained.

'What? What do you mean I shouldn't worry about those?! Last time we met up with those things they-' she started to exclaim. Then she gasped. 'Where are you? I mean where are you in your timeline? Have you been to Henriks with the Nestene Consciousness?'

He shot her a confused look. 'Yeah. But that was months ago.'

'Then I should be with you! You asked and I came with you!'

'You said no.'

She inhaled sharply. 'That's right. But, that still doesn't explain why I'm not with you. You came back and asked me again. I should be with you.'

'No, you shouldn't be. 'Cause I didn't go back.' He clenched his jaw. Rose Tyler. Who was she? Who was Rose Tyler?

Realization dawned on her face. 'Time machine,' she breathed.

'Of course it's a- wait, hold on, how do you know that? I didn't tell you that when you were in here before,' he said.

'But you will,' she said. 'Because I'm living proof. And before you say that time is always in flux, look at me. Look at my timeline. Meeting you is a fixed point, yeah? There are so many times that we save so many people, everywhere. Look at your timeline, or mine, then look at Earth's, or even the Universe's, if you can do that. Without us, the universe would be dead  _so_  many times.'

So he did, he looked at her timeline, and it was indeed twisted around itself, just like any of his companions' timelines became- and it was also true that her timeline was a fixed point the way it was. If anything happened to change it, everything could go wrong.

His brow furrowed. 'But why? When I saw you before, all I saw was you saying no. How can I see it now?'

'My guess is because this had to happen for you to see it. I had to come and convince you to ask twice. According to you, I'm the only one you've asked twice. I guess that makes me special,' she said. 'What makes it even funnier is that you've done it multiple times.'

'What do you mean? This is only the second time-' he started to say, but then blinked hard and took a pained gasp.

"He felt a splitting pain shoot across his forehead- then flashes of memory came to him- always this human girl. He had suppressed memories of her! So that he wouldn't corrupt the timelines!

She shook her head slowly, keeping her eyes on him. 'This isn't the second time you've met me. And I think you're starting to remember some of the times we've met before. Aren't you?'

He brought his hands to his temples. More than a few times, from the amount of pain he seemed to be in.

Then it stopped.

He remembered all the times he had run with her, rescued her, been rescued by her. And other  _interesting_  memories of her as well. He blushed. He could remember kissing her, telling her he loved her,  _more_ than kissing her, that one time. He ducked his head at that memory.

Rose shook her head amused, and started giggling. 'Sorry. Just, I can't imagine you, this you, embarrassed. It's funny.'

'What do you mean, ''this you''?' he asked, confused.

'You regenerate. I stay.'

'Why would you do that?'

'Cause I love you,' she said matter of factly. 'Any version of you. The next you, the previous you. Even the explosion in a rainbow factory, though I can't say I loved your fashion sense then. I'll have you know, that in two bodies, you will absolutely love bowties.' She winked. 'And I loved taking them off.' She giggled at his face, which was agog. 'Yep. It is hilarious to see this face embarrassed,' she said, but turned serious. 'Doctor, you have to go back. You literally can't just keep on going without me. Without you and me, together, the stuff of legends, the universe  _will_  die.'

He was confused. 'Why are you telling me all of this?'

Her face turned sad as she said, 'Cause you're gonna suppress these memories. Just like you did before. Aren't you? It's the only way to preserve the time lines.'

He nodded his head. 'No one can know too much about their future. Even me.'

'Even you, Doctor.'

He thought for a moment, then strode over to her at the top of the ramp.

'Well, if this is the last time I'm going to see this you, and the last time you are going to see this me, and if I will have to suppress these memories-'

'Oh, I forgot this you could have such a gob,' she sighed exasperatedly. 'Spit it out.'

He opened and closed his mouth a couple times, trying to formulate what he was trying to say, when she rolled her eyes and muttered, 'Definitely same software, different case.' Then she took her hands and placed them on the sides of his face and bought their mouths together, effectively ending the poor man's difficulties.

He was...surprised to say the least. He hadn't quite expected that. But once he realized what exactly was going on, and that after many years, he was kissing the woman he had fallen in love with so many times, he was quite ready to fully participate.

Rose was also surprised to find that this version of him was a  _very_  good kisser. Each version of him was different, and kissing was one of those differences. Not to say that they were all bad kissers- all of the ones she had kissed were in fact rather good. But this Doctor hadn't been kidding when he had said that he had the moves. They were in fact quite, um,  _wonderful_ , could be, ah, one word that could be applied to them, along with  _bone melting_  and definitely  _arousing_. He brought his hands from behind his back and placed one at her hip, and the other at the base of her neck, more effectively anchoring them to each other. He slanted his face slightly to gain better access to her mouth and licked at the seam of her lips, asking for entrance.

She opened her mouth, granting permission to deepen the kiss, and deepen it did.

But that  _damned_  dimension cannon! That was when it decided to say that it was ready to go on another trip.

Quite effectively interrupted, Rose and the Doctor separated, then leaned their foreheads together. The Doctor opened his eyes, but Rose kept hers closed.

'Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do that?' Rose asked, with her trademark tongue touched grin.

'No,' he said. 'But I think I can hazard a guess.'

She giggled, then drew in a deep breath. She finally separated from the Doctor and walked toward the dimension cannon.

'I mean it Doctor,' she said. 'If you don't go back or if you don't suppress those memories, the whole Universe could end.'

'I know. I already looked at your timeline remember?'

She nodded, and made to start the cannon, but the Doctor walked towards her again, and drew her into a hug. She stiffened for a second, before relaxing, and hugging him back.

'I love you,' he said. He knew that she had heard those words from some of his past regenerations, but from what he could guess, she had never heard it from these lips.

Her face almost contorted for a second, and she choked out, 'I love you, too, Doctor. Please remember that, even if it's only in your subconscious. And that I'll always be with you, even through the dark times.'

Then she vanished, with a loud crack and a flash of light.

He set the coordinates and set to rematerialize the TARDIS a few seconds after they had left. Hopefully she would help him along.

_'I've been trying to get you to go back since we left.'_

 

_*****_

 

He glanced at the screen on the console. Why was he in London? In 2005 of all times? Quite a boring year that, besides the Nestene and that girl.

 _'So that you can ask "that girl" a second time to come with you,_ ' the TARDIS prompted.  _'I'm sick of your moping. You need someone to run with you. And she'll be the best runner.'_

He ground his teeth before realizing that the timeship was, in fact, right.

Then he grinned. Time for some fresh blood around here.

He ran down the ramp and whipped the door open, grinning a manic grin-

 

*****

 

A younger Rose heard the TARDIS materialize behind her and saw the Doctor, a sight she thought she'd never see again.

'By the way did I mention-

 

*****

 

'- it also travels in time?'


End file.
